


fidelis

by JadeClover



Series: star-hewn colossi [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-08
Updated: 2017-06-08
Packaged: 2018-11-11 11:03:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11147094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JadeClover/pseuds/JadeClover
Summary: A late night. A quiet moment. A conversation on the nature of loyalty, and why they will never have to fear each other.





	fidelis

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine that Zarkon has two main beliefs regarding the soldiers in his army: 1) you're strong enough to survive, or you're useless, and 2) you serve the Empire loyally, or you're useless.
> 
> I also imagine him as kind of having a thing about loyalty, based on the theory that betrayal was a major event in his past.

"Commander Stolok was embroiled in treason. He attempted to convince me that you plotted my death."  
  
From the vicinity of his chest, a small scoff.  
  
 _Ridiculous_. Of course it is.  
  
Her thin fingers reach out and brush his skin, almost light enough to tickle. The motion slows, the fingers pause.  
  
A strange silence falls over them.  
  
"I could have killed you a thousand times by now," she murmurs.  
  
"I know."  
  
The fingers retract.  
  
"I would never," she says, and something now sharpens her tone—if he knows her, it is offense at the very idea.  
  
"I know." And he does. In all the universe, he is the one being she would never harm. That is no small thing.  
  
Her hand returns to his skin, this time the palm pressed flat, the fingers splayed out. A small sigh, barely felt against his chest.  
  
One ear flicks. "This troubles you."  
  
"I would _never_ ," she says again, and that is her response.  
  
"You are the only one from whom I could believe that. You are the only one I need not watch for betrayal." ( _Because trust is never the luxury of an emperor._ ) "I know you are loyal."  
  
She shifts, curls alongside him, braces her feet against his thigh. The hand on his skin gains motion, her fingertips finding an ancient scar to trace.  
  
In truth, it feels wrong. _Loyalty._ What an empty word. Loyalty is common—it is orders followed, resistance quelled, sacrifice made. It is what he demands from every soldier, what he exacts as his due. What he receives from her is nothing of the sort.  
  
It is fidelity.   
  
"Commanders like Stolok pretend to be loyal." The words gather, now, and flow with far more freedom than they ought. ( _But allow him his frustrations, those rare, bitter indulgences_.) "They follow orders, they are effective in their work, and they praise the glory of the Galra Empire. And then they turn on it for their own gain." Muttered lowly, the opportunist's maxim: "Every Galra for himself."  
  
( _What a disgusting notion._ )  
  
"And then there are those who are truly loyal. They can be trusted in their duties, but where must that trust end? There is a limit—there is _always_ a limit. Is conditional loyalty so much better than outright betrayal?"  
  
A silence, now—an unnatural one. He wants to say, _I know you. I trust you._  
  
 _You will never betray me._  
  
 _I will never betray you._  
  
 _I know this. I know, I know, I know._  
  
Her fingers trail once more over his skin, then remove. She murmurs to him, voice roughened by the onset of sleep, "The unit is stronger than its parts."  
  
An oft-tread conversation: What good is a device whose pieces won't align? When separate, the laser's focus and beam accomplish nothing. The Empire must function as a complex machine if it is to function at all. ( _And they are, always, better together._ )  
  
He is not afraid of betrayal. Traitors come and traitors are dealt with—such is the nature. But the heart of the Empire is forged in star-fire and bound in steel.  
  
( _I know._ )  
  
He does.  
  
And in quiet, he echoes her: "The unit is stronger than its parts."

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr [here](jade-clover.tumblr.com), come talk to me!


End file.
